UPDATE 1-HudBay Minerals Q1 profit rises on high metal price

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

* Q1 EPS C$0.11 vs est C$0.15

* Q1 rev down 26.5 pct to C$177.3 mln

* Says on track to meet 2011 production forecast

May 16 (Reuters) - HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) said on Monday its first-quarter earnings rose 59 percent, as higher metal prices helped boost profits of the Canadian base metal and precious metal miner, and that it was on track to meet its 2011 production forecast.

Net income in the first quarter rose to C$16.8 million ($17.2 million), or 11 Canadian cents a share, from C$10.6 million, or 7 Canadian cents a share a year ago.

Hudbay said earnings in the first quarter of 2011 included a charge of C$5.8 million, 4 Canadian cents a share, related to the Norsemont Mining NOM.TO acquisition in March.

HudBay, which has operations spread across the Americas, recently more than tripled the size of its copper reserves through its C$400 million acquisition of Norsemont, which owns the Constancia copper project in Peru.

Revenue in the quarter fell 26.5 percent to C$177.3 million.

Analysts on average were expecting Hudbay to earn 15 Canadian cents per share on revenue of C$190.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The miner produced 14,386 tonnes of copper, 19,205 tonnes of zinc and 30,006 gold-equivalent ounces in precious metals in the first quarter. (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; editing by Carol Bishopric)